Airwines: When you're flying, what's pouring?

I wondered what I might be served if I could afford to fly first class --or even business class--to the Big Apple and beyond.   It turns out the airlines have thought about it, too.


I learned they've come a long way from a packet of peanuts and a 200-year-old cookie.


A handful of carriers have hired top talent to guide them in what they pour. Those include United, American, and Singapore, to name a handful. The guidance has paid off, not only in the quality of wines provided.  Several show a lot of imagination in what they serve.


Champagne, which you'd expect to see, is there aplenty, but I don't drink it, so I'll just say Singapore appears to lead the league in this field.    


In first class, they also pour a pricey burgundy [2006 Faively Corton Clos des Cortons] served nowhere else in the air.  American also shows 1st class savoir faire, serving a Cabernet from the Pauillac region.  And United sticks closer to home in 1st class with two from California:  a St. Clement Carneros Chardonnay 2007 or a 2007 Davis Bynum Russian River Sonoma Pinot Noir.  On their domestic economy flights, United also surprises with a Redtree Chardonnay 2008 (North Coast, Calif.) or a  Sol Casal Tempranillo NV (Spain).  Not the sort of thing you'd expect in mid-air.

  Flying American you can ask for a Hope Estate Verdelho [a white from the Hunter Valley of Australia, called a nice change of pace from Chardonnay)...and on Qantas, a 2005 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay [which some connoisseur calls 'a vastly under-rated, gorgeous'].

   Cruising the terminal for other options, I see refreshing picks from British Airways (an Argento Malbec); American pours a Graham's 1991 Malvedos Vintage Port; SAS steps up with a Crusan Colombard Sauvignon Côtes de Gasgogne [a dry white seen most often as a pub /restaurant wine]; and United, showing imagination once more, serves its business class passengers a 2009 Burgans Albariño (another dry white). 

  Two other options impressed me:  the 2005 Château Batailley served on Lufthansa,rated 90 by Wine Spectator [with hints of licorice, currant and fresh cèpe on the nose. Full and silky, with lots of sweet tobacco and berry character..] and the Casa de Santa Dão Reserva,  which you'll taste in the off chance you choose to fly Air Portualo to Lisbon; it's a red blend of Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro and Tinta Roriz rated 87 at the Westin St. Francis tasting.]

I won't be flying much at current market rates..but some of these

wines may be ordered on line.  If I had to pick one sip from this list I'd order the Batailley, then pretend I went to Kenya to visit our old friends Mike & Judy Rainy, who run a remarkable safari/photo camp in Kajiado. They serve a nice sauvignon blanc and also are partial to South African clarets if you decide to go.

California took in an orphan, called it Zin

A friend said lately his zin shelf was bare.  Mine, too, but zin upsets me, so I was wary.  A decade ago, when two bottles from the same California vineyard tied my guts in a knot, I took zin off my list.  

A few years passed, and I attended a tasting where I tried a sip of Turley, another from Ridge, 3-4 others, all from California.   The Turley took 2nd in our little circle.   I can't recall the winner, but my faith in zin was restored.
It was at that tasting I heard that Zinfandel--considered a great choice for anyone doing burgers on the deck--has a history that leapfrogs its assumed home in Italy (where they also call it primitivo) to Croatia, its true home.    

It's winter here, and we're in no hurry to haul out the deck chairs, but I did some scouting for my friend, and found half a dozen reliable zins under $16.   They include:

Joel Gott 2008 Zin at $14

Klinker Brick Old Vine 2009 Zin @ $16 ----or $14.50 per half case--the first one I'd like to try, based purely on the name. 

St. Francis Old Vine 2007 Zin  $16
Michael Pozzan Napa Valley Cuvee 2009 Zin $17
Four Vines Maverick Zin $16
Ironstone Reserve 2008 Zin $15

While I'm sure it works, I'd drink a different wine (a nosy syrah) with my deckburger. With Zin I'd consider some chewy Thai dishes, especially those rated 3-5 on the pepper scale.  I don't recommend it. I'm just making a point.   I believe Zin will win more fans as the current crop of winemakers figures out how to take down that spicy edge, round it out and give us a more balanced profile fit for other foods.

 

Orson? it's time to drink the wine

Once known as the Champagne King  of California, Paul Masson left town not once, but twice.  The first time he was homesick for France, but when he got there, the phylloxera virus killed all the root stock, so he came back.  The second time was when Paul Masson folded its tent when it was acquired by  Vintners International and became the Mountain Winery..hardly a distinctive brand (have you heard of it since Orson Wells died?)  

Maybe that's because Vintners filed for bankruptcy and was acquired by Canandaigua. better known as CENTERA.  That was nearly 20 years ago.  Growing out of that mess Canandaigua became Constellation (heard of that?) and  the Masson label was sold by Centera to the Wine Group LLC of California.

We know now that Wells never drank Paul Masson in his life.  And in a sense, neither have we, since 1993.  Wine Group also bought two other lowbrow brands (Almaden and Inglenook) which I guess you can still find on the shelf at Safeway?   (You can buy Almaden Heritage Cab for about $7 in box wine.  Might be worth a sip if you're just getting started with wine.) The Mountain Winery sells a cab for $27 and a zin for $26.  They also offer wine classes/tastings at the vineyard where you can learn the ropes (vines?) from experts.)  At Inglenook, they took the high road...wines run from $48 to  $430 a bottle.  They've earned high marks, but I don't buy wine that pricey.)

All of this is prelude to the question: Where do we learn about wine?
I believe the answers are (in this order):
a) friends and family who introduce us to it at parties
b) fraternities
c) tasting events we attend at nonprofit auctions.

We haven't seen Orson Welles pumping Paul Masson for years, and we don't see wine advertised on television, so the role of media in minimal in shaping our taste. If you shop at wine stores, you are no doubt bedevilled by the sheer array of bottles...you feel like a kid in a toy store, or a woman buying fishing gear...unless you happen to be Joan Wulff, that paragon of casters.

But I'm not here to offer advice. Taste is too precarious for that.  I prefer to point out that there are two ends to the wine trade, or maybe three. The first is the mega-wineries (Gallo owns about 60%of it, I suppose, even if they hide their hands in boutique mittens.)

The other end is the tiny one, and that's where I tend to migrate. I like Hauck Cellars in Healdsburg, for instance. When I buy a case from Hauck, I can talk directly to Greg at the counter. Same with Austin Briggs in Calistoga, CA. I also had a nice chat with a charming woman at Barnard Griffin in Prosser, but the founder was not far away. That sense of proximity/ownership/pride melts away when the winery becomes a mere commodity.

So here are some other solo vineyards --named randomly--if you happen to share my bias.  I suggest 500-1,000 cases as a ceiling
in choosing your wines. 

Allora  --Napa (esp. for its petite sirah, their best seller). 
Biale -- Napa (esp. for its old vine Zin, reumored to be fine..I don't know.)
Vincent Arroyo--Calistoga (for its cab and petite sirah..I have not tried them.)
Robert Hall --Paso Robles  (for syrah, but also for its gold medal Rose) Have tried only the syrah)
Penman Springs--(Paso Robles for petite sirah and cab--have not tried)
St. Francis Winery: --Sonoma (for its 2008 Cab)
I have one in my cellar

And in Washington State:
Dunham Cellars: --Walla Walla (for its syrah and its Trutina, both terrific)
Dusted Valley: --Walla Walla (for its cabernet franc and its malbec)
                                                                         (have not tried that)
Gramercy Cellars---Walla Walla (have not tried these, but hear great things
                                 about Syrah, Cab and Third Man
Mark Ryan: --Woodinville (for its allegedly great Dead Horse and its cabernet
                 (already sold out).  Note: I could not afford any of their wines, but
                     they have become a winemaking legend in NW, considered a "cult" winery.)

Gorman Winery: --Woodinville (for its Evil Twin and Bully wines, both red)         
                         as much for their amusing names as any other reason..I can't afford 'em.

JM Cellars: --Woodinville  (for its Bramble Bump--sold out)
                     They have others I can't afford, but if you can, consider Longevity @ $38
                          Their Tre Fanciulli--cab/merlot/syrah) is also sold out. Only 275 cases.
                               (15% discount for club members)

Old bottle, drunk fall in, nice bouquet

You read haiku?  Not many do.  The best ones have the punch of ju jitsu, the delicacy of a snowflake landing our faces.  But for most readers--the experience is too much like looking in the window of a restaurant, thinking of going in...but skipping the meal. 

So why does wine figure prominently in the work of so many of the best makers of haiku?  It is an outright theme in some cases...the poet staggering home after wine with friends comes upon a tableau near a country lane.   Or the rice wine loosens his tongue and he admit some human frailty. I can't be sure...not being a drinker of Sake, but I suspect most of the power lies in the wine, not the lines.
Poking around the Internet for a blog that explores the connections between poetry and wine, I found RED WINE HAIKU Review where the blogger (Lane Steinberg) sums up some recent tastings in the classical form of a  3-line Japanese poem:

Here's a random sample of some recent brief assessments:

 

489) Roxyann Syrah 2008 (Oregon)

    Baby butt softness

    And a milk chocolate finish

    Hide from the children!

 

488) Roxyann Merlot 2007 (Oregon)

     When expectations

     Are effortlessly eclipsed

     One's left satisfied

 

486) Cannonball Cabernet 2008 (California)

     Starts off promising

     An impressive half gainer

     Then a belly flop

 

481) Castlebank Zinfandel 2009 (California)

    Frivolous and cold

    Which by no means should suggest
    It's without its char

To see more of Mr. Steinberg, visit his blog at
http://redwinehaiku.blogspot.com/